In 2025, fire departments serving Nazareth responded to 75 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
602 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $11K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 131 | — | |
| 2022 | 127 | -3.1% | |
| 2023 | 144 | +13.4% | |
| 2024 | 125 | -13.2% | |
| 2025 | 75 | -40.0% |
For the 21 building fires Nazareth departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 101 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 19 | 18.8% | |
| 2 | Other | 14 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 13 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 9.9% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 20.8% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Nazareth mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 52 | 51.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 11 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 11.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Nazareth departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Nazareth sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 23,274 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,949 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,265 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,126 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 995 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 848 | 20.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 812 | 28.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 741 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 674 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 647 | 30.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 623 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 615 | 36.2 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Nazareth. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Nazareth.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.